Rap, and more specifically the culture of hip-hop, has gone through many phases, and has often been the victim of controversy since becoming part of mainstream American consciousness in the mid-1980s. The hip-hop of the 1990s was marked by violence as two of its biggest stars, Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., were both murdered within a year of each other in unrelated incidents. Many view the rap music that has come out over the last decade as being vapid and materialistic. However, Victor Williams is hard at work to educate people of all walks of life that there is an incredibly positive and educational aspect to hip-hop culture, as well as phenomenal music right in their backyard.
Since 1995, Victor Williams has been operating the Grand Rapids Hip-Hop Coalition, a group whose mission, according to Williams "is to educate and preserve the youth through hip-hop culture."
Williams, who is also known as Governor Slugwell, has a long history with hip-hop music and the culture that coincides with it.
"Hip-hop was a divine tool from God that was sent to me and it saved my life," Williams says. "I was growing up at the height of the crack era…(hip-hop) gave me victory over the streets."
Williams cites a lot of the music of the mid-1980s as his biggest inspirations. It was artists like Whodini and KRS-One who got Williams interested in hip-hop. However, it is famed duo Eric B and Rakim Williams quotes. There is a line in their song "Set 'Em Straight" that Williams likes to share with people:
Sellin' drugs is for handicaps/I got too many skills besides busting rough raps.Of that lyric, Williams says, "it resonates with me inside."
At the age of 17, Williams' skills with the music side of hip-hop were recognized, and he, along with artists such as Hellraiser, Robert S and Iceman J, were among the early artists from Grand Rapids to get deals with national labels. However, it did not take long for Williams to become dissatisfied with much of what he saw happening in mainstream hip-hop.
"The corporate structure took over and we don't embrace that," Williams says.
Williams returned to Grand Rapids in 1993 and shortly thereafter started the framework that would become the Grand Rapids Hip Hop Coalition.
In the early days of the Coalition, there were two main goals. The first was "to educate people in a power position" about the benefits of hip-hop culture. These people included local government, school officials and members of clergy. The second goal was to work on uniting the scattered hip-hop artists in the city. In those days Williams says, "The (hip-hop) scene was really loose…we gave it a body."
Obviously, both of these goals are still works in progress and success is not necessarily quantifiable, but is little argument that Williams and the others who work with the Coalition have made considerable progress on both fronts. The Hip-Hop Coalition now puts on multiple events throughout the year such as the Hip-Hop Awards, which occurs every fall. Williams is proud to announce that this next show will be the fifth year. In the spring, the coalition puts on Hip-Hop Appreciation Week. The week consists of several shows and culminates in a large, family-focused daylong festival called Park Jam at Martin Luther King Park.
It is the second goal, to get a united hip-hop community, where Williams' and many others' hard work has truly paid off.
"The (hip-hop scene) is growing right now, but there's still a lot of prejudice if you don't have a guitar or drum kit," Williams says. Williams, acting as something of an elder statesman in the scene, continues to work to change that perception.
"I try to constantly encourage the artists to add more to add more to their performance," he says.
People are definitely starting to pay attention to the hip-hop coming out of the West Michigan area. Williams points to artists like Willie the Kid and DJ SuperDre, who are both getting national attention. But Williams also gives praise to the more underground artists like Sean Powell (Suport) and Rick Chyme.
"We've got a lot great artists around here that are doing their thing," Williams says.
In continuing with his work, Williams says one of his main goals for the future is to start a school of arts where the curriculum would be based on different elements of hip-hop culture. Williams says this would include things like entrepreneurship, hip-hop fashion and language.
Throughout his years of work with the Coalition, Williams has formed lots of relationships and touched many lives. Kysean Belcher, of Grand Rapids-based hip-hop group The Action Figures says, "The hip-hop coalition goes much deeper than just music. It's an organization that brings people together in our community and promotes the positive side of hip-hop."
Moe McCoy, who performs in the group Fireproof, moved to Hawaii, but still brings his family back to West Michigan for Hip-Hop Appreciation Week every year. "My sons get to learn about their culture, as well as my daughter," McCoy says.
Williams says the Hip-Hop Coalition is always looking for "hard-working, artistic, business-minded individuals…to help take this machine to the next level."
Members meet twice a month on Saturday mornings at 11:00 a.m. at the Lifequest Urban Outreach Center (
1050 Fisk Road SE, Grand Rapids). Membership to the Grand Rapids Hip-Hop Coalition costs $50 annually and donations are tax deductible. For more information, check out the
Grand Rapids Hip-Hop Coalition Fan Page on Facebook.
Nick Manes is a freelance writer based in Grand Rapids. His work has appeared in Rapid Growth Media, Revue Magazine and other publications. He blogs at NickManes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nickmanes1.